Travels In India, 2020 - Mad About Mumbai Part 1

Want to talk about social distancing, stockpiling food and travel restrictions? Me, neither. Let's crack on with the travelogue instead.

How did we spend Valentine's Day this year? We flew to Mumbai and had dinner with five complete strangers. 

We loved exploring the Dharavi Slum back in 2018 (HERE) and traveling around Delhi by public transport last year (HERE) so, whilst in Goa, we booked into another of Reality Gives award-winning tours, opting for an evening sampling the world-famous street food of Mumbai. In hindsight, we should have studied the starting times more closely, we arrived at our meeting point just in the nick of time, straight off the plane, somewhat rumpled and glowing from Mumbai's sweltering 36°C.

Our first stop was Chowpatty, Mumbai's most famous beach, a favourite spot for courting couples and families and the best spot in the city to see the sunset. 

 The light in Mumbai is so beautiful it takes my breath away.

Evening bhelpuri at the throng of stalls on the beach's southern end is an essential part of the Mumbai experience (and although we'd eaten bhelpuri and visited Chowpatti before, we'd never combined the two).

In addition to Bhelpuri, made from puffed rice, peanuts, chutneys, spice powders, veggies & sev (gram flour vermicelli), we feasted on Dahi Puri - crispy mini shells stuffed with potatoes, boiled pulses, coriander, and tamarind chutney, garnished with sev, coriander & pomegranate seeds; Pani Puri - potato, onion, chickpeas, coriander chutney stuffed crispy shells drenched in sour and spicy mint flavored water. 

In Goa, the Pav Bhaji we have for breakfast (a thin vegetable curry served with a freshly baked bread roll) is a completely different dish to the one served in Mumbai. Here it's served after 4pm, the sauce is much richer, served with a slab of butter and the bread rolls are warm and slathered with butter.

Still on Chowpatty, we sampled Kulfi, a frozen dairy dessert very similar to ice cream, but much denser and creamier. Popular flavours include rose, mango, pistachio, cardamom and saffron. I loathe ice cream but I love kulfi!

Our fellow diners were a French-speaking couple from Ontario, a Greek businessman residing in Paris and a second-generation British Asian who hadn't been to India since he was a child. Our guide, Jat, was originally from Kerala but moved to Mumbai to go to university.

From Chowpatty we walked through the bustling bazaar of Mohammed Ali Road, the city's Muslim Quarter, where everyone but me and Jat (both vegetarians) tucked into Chota kebabs, wholemeal roti & chicken tikka and although I'd eaten more than my fill at the vegetarian food stalls at Chowpatty the stall manager whipped me up a plate of Anda Bhurji, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, chilies, onion, and fragrant spices. 

Before catching a taxi back to our hotel the final stop was to a 120-year-old ice cream parlour. Although I'm not a fan of ice cream it seemed churlish not to give it a go so I had a couple of spoonfuls of custard apple before passing the rest to Jon.

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation Reality have currently suspended all their Mumbai tours.

 The following morning we paid a visit to Anokhi. After an hour in the changing room, I chose two dresses (one of which I wore HERE), I could easily have bought more but luckily for my purse, there was a limited amount of XS clothes on the rails!

Our next stop was the hamlet of Khotachiwadi, a heritage village of nearly 180 years old, which clings onto Mumbai life as it was before high-rises. A Christian enclave of elegant two-storey Portuguese-style wooden mansions, the winding lanes offer a wonderful glimpse into a quiet life away from noisy Mumbai.

Although Khotachiwadi isn't far from Chowpatty beach, it's a tricky place to find and well off the well-trodden tourist track. We spent a couple of hours wandering the alleyways and drooling over the old houses. Apparently, it's magical around Christmastime as all the homes are beautifully decorated.

We were invited into this incredible studio which turned out to be the home and gallery of celebrated Indian fashion designer, James Ferriera, who worked with Zandra Rhodes back in the early 1970s. The young woman minding the shop was a fashion photographer and insisted on snapping me - what an honour!

After a leisurely stroll back to Colaba we stopped for masala dosas at a tiny hole-in-the-wall canteen on the Causeway. If you're unfamiliar with them, they're crispy vegetarian pancakes made from a fermented rice and lentil batter, stuffed with spiced potatoes and served with a tamarind spiced vegetable sauce and coconut chutney. Traditionally dosas are served between 10am and 4pm and cost around 70p

Be still, my beating heart! After lunch we finally achieved my life-long ambition and had beers in The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai's most famous landmark and the second most photographed monument in all of India. 

A fairytale blend of Islamic and Renaissance styles, the Taj was built in 1903 by the Parsi industrialist, JN Tata, after he was refused entry to a nearby European hotel on account of being "a native". It was a groundbreaking achievement - the first hotel in India to employ women, the first to have electricity (and fans) and the first to house freedom fighters (for no charge) during India's struggle for Independence. More recently it was targetted by terrorists in 2008, leading to dozens being killed.

They were the most expensive beers we'd ever had but the quality of the snacks (and the service) more than lessened the blow!

So much so that we had seconds!

Everyone from Roger Moore, John Lennon, Mick Jagger has visited the Taj - and now we have, too! I was a bit disappointed that there were tourists wandering around in shorts and teeshirts, though, such a magnificent hotel deserved more respect.

  If you'd seen the 1970 Merchant Ivory film, Bombay Talkie, then you'll be familiar with the incredible staircase which reminded us of the stepwell at Jodhpur.

I had to pinch this off the internet as I couldn't get a clear shot!

Stay positive, you lovely people!

See you soon.